Does A Bad Credit Score Mean You'll Be Bad At Your Job?

A growing number of employers are running credit checks on potential hires before making a job offer. Unfortunately, there are a large number of people out there whose credit reports are still marred by the recent and ongoing economic troubles. So does it make sense to consider an applicant’s credit history?

That’s the question being asked by a new study in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

“[L]ittle is known about the legitimacy of such practices,” write the researchers of the study, which assessed personality data, credit scores and employee performance data. “Credit scores did not, however, predict workplace deviance.”

While some may argue that a credit report can give an employer about that applicant’s level of responsibility, the reports may paint an unfair picture of someone whose credit was damaged as a result of unemployment or a financial emergency.